West Oxfordshire could apply for European money to combat declining rural services in the area, writes David Horne.

The district council is preparing its case for a share of 64m earmarked for schemes in England and Wales.

The money is part of a European Union programme called LEADER+, which is designed to boost economic and social activity.

The spotlight could focus on poor public transport services and loss of village shops, post offices, banks, pubs, petrol stations and garages. Ben Webster, the council's head of policy and economic development, revealed the move after the Oxford Mail's sister paper, the Witney Gazette, reported that two more villages were to lose their postal counters.

He said: "This is a new EU programme and there is mounting evidence that we could qualify. "While the population of our rural areas outside Witney, Carterton and Chipping Norton has increased in the past 25 years, many things have been in decline. We would looking support from organisations such as parish councils and chambers of trade, and private sector providers such as banks and bus operators.

"We have declining services.

"How can we reverse the trend?"

In Freeland, the post office facility has been withdrawn from the village store, and in Ducklington, the village shop has closed. Many villages, including Charlbury and Freeland, have lost their petrol filling stations.

The council has a policy to try to stop village pubs closing.

Planners look at business accounts and assess the market before deciding whether to give the go-ahead for conversions.